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The Colgate Maroon-News Ihe Oldest College Weekly in America Founded 1868 Volume CXXXVIII, Number XXI March 31, 2006 Learning from History By Meg Savin Rwandan Genocide Survivor Rusesabagina Speaks on Campus Senior Editor The release of Terry George's Hotel Rwanda last spring came as a shock to many across the nation. The film, made ten years alter the bloody massacre of the Tutsi people by Hutu extremists in Rwanda, was released on the genocide's eleventh anniversary. The film tells the story of Hutu hotel manager Rusesabagina's efforts during the horrifying three months of fighting, to harbor and ultimately save the lives of over 1,200 Tutsis, including his wife and children. Yesterday, the Peace and Conflict Studies Department, along with many other departments, sponsored "Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to Be Learned," a lecture by Rusesabagina. Ruses.ibagina came to speak to students and faculty during the last week of March to commemorate the 12-year anniversary of the genocide. The genocide was triggered by the shooting down of Hutu Rwandan president Habyarimana's plane on April 6, 1994, an incident that led to chaos throughout the country. Rusesabagina came to Colgate at a pivotal moment in current affairs in Africa, with the mass killing of the Darfurians in western Sudan by a government-backed Janjaweed militia. John D. and Catherine T. Mac Arthur Fellow in Peace Studies Sasha Milicevic, who spearheaded the effort to invite Rusesabagina to campus after hearing him speak last spring at Cornell University, stressed the importance of making the connection between Rwanda and Darfur. "People ask, 'can I make a difference?". explained Milicevic. "Realizing that one person can, to mc, is the most important thing. One person courageous and determined enough to risk their own life can make a difference. This is the Rwanda on the stage of the Memorial Chapel clearly had an emotional impact on students. There was only standing room left ten minutes before the lecture commenced. Rusesabagina began with a brief historical overview of the civil strife within Rwanda in the 19505, which began when the Belgium colonizers favored the Tutsi people. This Ktimately caused rifts between the utus and the Tutsis, who had previously coexisted peacefully and shared their culture, language and customs. Besides the role of the colonizers, Rusesabagina cited corruption, the media and poverty as other facors that eventually led to animosity >etween the two groups. He told of t ie impending doom of the Rwan(an people as the international ommunity withdrew in the face of looming disaster, evacuating forgners with their pets before any of t ie native Africans. "The world closed dieir eyes and ears and ran away," Rusesabagina said. He explained to a captivated audience his powers of negotiation with a gun to his head once the Hutu extremists came to evacuate him and his family. He was eventually escorted along with his family and neighbors to the Hotel Mille-Collines of which he was the manager. He spoke of one horror after the next: discovering that his son's friends had been slaughtered next door, watching his son shake in fear as armed Hutu rebels climbed their fence, and passing by mutilated bodies on the side of the road. "Our problem was not about dying, but about how we were going to die," he said. "Torture was our only threat. No one thought we would survive to leave the hotel." All 1,268 of the hotel refugees were mobilized from the hotel to refugee camps, after communication and negotiation efforts on the part of Rusesabagina. "I will never fight with a gun," Rusesabagina said. "I will fight with my words." He emphasized the importance of individual action. It is unacceptable that the global community turned its back on Rwanda, he said. "What I saw in Rwanda is exactly what is going on in Darfur," he said. "Sometimes people forget history for their own convenience. It is our mission to stand up and say no to human rights abuse." Rusesabagina's final comments were met with a standing ovation. The lecture was the highlight of Genocide Awareness Week. Students of the newly formed Progressive Student Network have worked incessantly to organize letterand postcard-writing campaigns, call-ins to government representatives, as well as penny wars, poker games and benefit dinners and dates to raise money for the Genocide Intervention Network (genocideinterventionnetwork.net).A HERO SPEAKS: During the Rwandan genocide, Paul Rusesabagina saved over 1,200 Tutsis Dean of the College Finalists Visit Campus By David mcKenzie Maroon-News Staff After meetings and deliberation, the search committee dedicated to selecting a new Dean of the College to replace Adam Weinberg has selected three finalisis for the position. The three candidates are Debra X.m.ii DeMeif, Dean of the College and Professor of Psychology at William Smith College; Shirley Ramirez, National Director of Operations for The Posse Foundation; and Dawn Williams, Dean for Community Development at Seton Hall University. Over 70 applicants from diverse backgrounds applied for the position. Since December, the search committee, led by University President Rebecca Chopp and Associate Dean of the Faculty Jill Tiefenthaler, has reviewed the credentials of the candidates. "We dwindled the list of over 70 applications down to 25, then we cut it down to 12, then to seven and finally to three," Tiefenthaler said, "and we are having these top three candidates visit over the next 10 days." Looking for a candidate who will follow in the innovative and successful footsteps of Weinberg, the committee searched for someone with excellent leadership and managerial experience. The committee looked for a person with a proven track record in building diversity and encouraging cross-cultural partnerships. Other requirements were strong interpersonal and communication skills, as well as a Master's degree. To maximize student input on the decision, senior SGA President Amy Dudley and sophomore Will Redmund are hosting open forums in which students can converse with candidates and ask them questions. "These forums are completely student-run," Tiefenthaler said. "The candidates get a few minutes to introduce themselves to students and explain what they can bring to the job, then the floor is opened for questions." Following these informational meetings, students are encouraged to write feedback about their opinions on the candidates. All feedback must be received by April 5, so it can be organized, evaluated and presented to President Chopp by the members of the search committee. President Chopp will announce her final decision and appoint a new Dean of the College in mid- to late April. The Dean of the College oversees the area of student affairs, placing him or her in charge of all co-curricular programs like Campus Safety, the Center for Outreach and Volunteer Education (COVE), Career Services, Judicial Affairs and Student Health Services. The incoming Dean will also inherit the job of heading the Residential Education program that in recent years has intended to refocus campus life around the principles of civic education. DAWN OF A NEW ERA?: Dawn Williams, Dean for Community Development at Seton Hall University, is a finalist for the position of Dean of the College. • photo by Luis Boettner continued on page A-6 dfeirjier

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The Colgate Maroon-News Ihe Oldest College Weekly in America Founded 1868 Volume CXXXVIII, Number XXI March 31, 2006 Learning from History By Meg Savin Rwandan Genocide Survivor Rusesabagina Speaks on Campus Senior Editor The release of Terry George's Hotel Rwanda last spring came as a shock to many across the nation. The film, made ten years alter the bloody massacre of the Tutsi people by Hutu extremists in Rwanda, was released on the genocide's eleventh anniversary. The film tells the story of Hutu hotel manager Rusesabagina's efforts during the horrifying three months of fighting, to harbor and ultimately save the lives of over 1,200 Tutsis, including his wife and children. Yesterday, the Peace and Conflict Studies Department, along with many other departments, sponsored "Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to Be Learned," a lecture by Rusesabagina. Ruses.ibagina came to speak to students and faculty during the last week of March to commemorate the 12-year anniversary of the genocide. The genocide was triggered by the shooting down of Hutu Rwandan president Habyarimana's plane on April 6, 1994, an incident that led to chaos throughout the country. Rusesabagina came to Colgate at a pivotal moment in current affairs in Africa, with the mass killing of the Darfurians in western Sudan by a government-backed Janjaweed militia. John D. and Catherine T. Mac Arthur Fellow in Peace Studies Sasha Milicevic, who spearheaded the effort to invite Rusesabagina to campus after hearing him speak last spring at Cornell University, stressed the importance of making the connection between Rwanda and Darfur. "People ask, 'can I make a difference?". explained Milicevic. "Realizing that one person can, to mc, is the most important thing. One person courageous and determined enough to risk their own life can make a difference. This is the Rwanda on the stage of the Memorial Chapel clearly had an emotional impact on students. There was only standing room left ten minutes before the lecture commenced. Rusesabagina began with a brief historical overview of the civil strife within Rwanda in the 19505, which began when the Belgium colonizers favored the Tutsi people. This Ktimately caused rifts between the utus and the Tutsis, who had previously coexisted peacefully and shared their culture, language and customs. Besides the role of the colonizers, Rusesabagina cited corruption, the media and poverty as other facors that eventually led to animosity >etween the two groups. He told of t ie impending doom of the Rwan(an people as the international ommunity withdrew in the face of looming disaster, evacuating forgners with their pets before any of t ie native Africans. "The world closed dieir eyes and ears and ran away," Rusesabagina said. He explained to a captivated audience his powers of negotiation with a gun to his head once the Hutu extremists came to evacuate him and his family. He was eventually escorted along with his family and neighbors to the Hotel Mille-Collines of which he was the manager. He spoke of one horror after the next: discovering that his son's friends had been slaughtered next door, watching his son shake in fear as armed Hutu rebels climbed their fence, and passing by mutilated bodies on the side of the road. "Our problem was not about dying, but about how we were going to die," he said. "Torture was our only threat. No one thought we would survive to leave the hotel." All 1,268 of the hotel refugees were mobilized from the hotel to refugee camps, after communication and negotiation efforts on the part of Rusesabagina. "I will never fight with a gun," Rusesabagina said. "I will fight with my words." He emphasized the importance of individual action. It is unacceptable that the global community turned its back on Rwanda, he said. "What I saw in Rwanda is exactly what is going on in Darfur," he said. "Sometimes people forget history for their own convenience. It is our mission to stand up and say no to human rights abuse." Rusesabagina's final comments were met with a standing ovation. The lecture was the highlight of Genocide Awareness Week. Students of the newly formed Progressive Student Network have worked incessantly to organize letterand postcard-writing campaigns, call-ins to government representatives, as well as penny wars, poker games and benefit dinners and dates to raise money for the Genocide Intervention Network (genocideinterventionnetwork.net).A HERO SPEAKS: During the Rwandan genocide, Paul Rusesabagina saved over 1,200 Tutsis Dean of the College Finalists Visit Campus By David mcKenzie Maroon-News Staff After meetings and deliberation, the search committee dedicated to selecting a new Dean of the College to replace Adam Weinberg has selected three finalisis for the position. The three candidates are Debra X.m.ii DeMeif, Dean of the College and Professor of Psychology at William Smith College; Shirley Ramirez, National Director of Operations for The Posse Foundation; and Dawn Williams, Dean for Community Development at Seton Hall University. Over 70 applicants from diverse backgrounds applied for the position. Since December, the search committee, led by University President Rebecca Chopp and Associate Dean of the Faculty Jill Tiefenthaler, has reviewed the credentials of the candidates. "We dwindled the list of over 70 applications down to 25, then we cut it down to 12, then to seven and finally to three," Tiefenthaler said, "and we are having these top three candidates visit over the next 10 days." Looking for a candidate who will follow in the innovative and successful footsteps of Weinberg, the committee searched for someone with excellent leadership and managerial experience. The committee looked for a person with a proven track record in building diversity and encouraging cross-cultural partnerships. Other requirements were strong interpersonal and communication skills, as well as a Master's degree. To maximize student input on the decision, senior SGA President Amy Dudley and sophomore Will Redmund are hosting open forums in which students can converse with candidates and ask them questions. "These forums are completely student-run," Tiefenthaler said. "The candidates get a few minutes to introduce themselves to students and explain what they can bring to the job, then the floor is opened for questions." Following these informational meetings, students are encouraged to write feedback about their opinions on the candidates. All feedback must be received by April 5, so it can be organized, evaluated and presented to President Chopp by the members of the search committee. President Chopp will announce her final decision and appoint a new Dean of the College in mid- to late April. The Dean of the College oversees the area of student affairs, placing him or her in charge of all co-curricular programs like Campus Safety, the Center for Outreach and Volunteer Education (COVE), Career Services, Judicial Affairs and Student Health Services. The incoming Dean will also inherit the job of heading the Residential Education program that in recent years has intended to refocus campus life around the principles of civic education. DAWN OF A NEW ERA?: Dawn Williams, Dean for Community Development at Seton Hall University, is a finalist for the position of Dean of the College. • photo by Luis Boettner continued on page A-6 dfeirjier